News

Cloud computing: how far we’ve come and where we’re going

April 25, 2014

There's no denying that the market for cloud computing has absolutely exploded in recent years, but still too many IT professionals may not have realized just how impressive and important such a leap has been. Just as important as the cloud's past is the cloud's future, and some predictions point to interesting cloud-based directions in the future.

According to Cloud Computing News, from 2008 to 2014, the cloud market has absolutely exploded. In just six years, the market's net value has seen its estimates skyrocket from $46 billion to more than $150 billion, having seen its total value rise by more than 200 percent in that time. Today's average business platform found that three-quarters of all companies use the cloud in some way thanks to its wide variety of uses, whether their focuses were on emails, storing photos, streaming music or other specific needs.

Of companies using the cloud, just as strong as a market has been found among their different emphases. Nearly 86 percent of all companies use more than one type of cloud computing service. A number of them are known to use as many as four at one time.

Just as popular as cloud services has been cloud storage, which also has more than impressive numbers throughout the survey's results. As many as 75 percent of cloud users store photographs using the service, while 70 percent uses email and 66 percent are able to access business documents.

Looking toward the future
The news source added that with great growth will come further strength in the overall market. Studies have predicted that in the next five to 10 years, more than 50 percent of all IT services will use the cloud as a dominant feature. The hybrid cloud, which uses both public and private services, will expand accordingly, with as much as 43 percent of the market using its strengths. North America, in addition, will have more than 1.1 zettabytes of information in total on the cloud.

IT World Canada attempted to predict new features soon to grow into the market. These ideas included virtual desktops that would utilize the cloud as their dominant feature, being able to interact with a number of floating services to provide customers with better care. A second concept supplied by the news source was that of customer as a service, where customers could access the cloud from anywhere to utilize or purchase almost any service they require.